Choice

Do I, in the matter at hand, have a choice?

This is the question asked by my voice

At every step of my journey through life’s highway

Somehow that voice always seemed to say

That I did not have the luxury to choose-

There was one way forward, if I did not want to lose

The path that was created on the backbone

Of archaic traditions was the right one alone

Or so I was led to believe through the years

To question the veracity of this, I did fear

**

Taking each step forward had become

Like following the steps in an algorithm

The cookie cutter approach to life served me

Well for a while, predictability was the key

To a life spent within the confines

Of conformity with society’s arbitrary designs..

**

As I grew older the realization came to me

That I had become narrow-minded in my conformity

As unpredictable events unfolded before my eyes

My thoughts and opinions I had to revise-

Under the guise of limited choice, I had developed tunnel vision

Now was the time to choose wisely, take a decision-

**

I chose to ignore rules and regulations that felt imposed

To open my mind to doors that had seemed closed

To accept new challenges, explore vistas new

To discard my prejudices, embrace a broader world-view

To move away from extremes, find middle ground,

The place where the truth was likely to be found

To shed the weight of expectations from everyone

To turn over a new leaf, be a brand new person..

**

Now I have a very different inner voice

Telling me I have the freedom of choice